


Rewatch: Merlin Season 1

by Loptmeer



Series: Rewatch: Merlin Series [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Archived From Magic In Camelot Blog, Archived From Tumblr, Essay, Meta, Meta Essay, Nonfiction, cross-posted from tumblr, information
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-07-26
Packaged: 2019-09-17 08:01:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 17,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16970811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loptmeer/pseuds/Loptmeer
Summary: A series of rewatches going through season 1 of BBC's Merlin. My commentary on certain aspects of the show, moments, analyses of characters. Includes screenshots as well.Originally under the name Magic in Camelot, these posts have all been migrated from Tumblr, for archival purposes. Anyone may feel free to read through, comment, or even take some of these screenshots if you'd like!This work is Part 1 of 5; each chapter is a different episode with some rare two parters and extra analyses.





	1. The Dragon's Call

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been seeing a lot of these posts around and figured I’d do a series of rewatches as well since I was going to be rewatching and screenshoting Merlin for my own research. And I honestly love seeing everyones opinions on the episodes. There’s always something refreshing brought up.
> 
> These will basically be my thoughts and speculations and I’ll probably be talking about future events so spoilers, I guess!

**1.**  Merlin arrives to Camelot at sunrise. The city surrounding the castle looks far bigger than I’d ever thought it could be. And the buildings are going up hill? o.o  

**2.** Thomas James Collins (also wow what a full name for a peasant, really makes me wonder what Guinevere’s full name is or Merlin’s) and Mary Collins both have magic and seem to live in Camelot’s city, something we don’t see very often. After this, people in Camelot usually just get accused of sorcery and the actual sorcerers come to Camelot for revenge.

**3.**  Uther calls Kilgarrah the “Great Dragon”. I wonder what he found so great about him, it’s probably just cause he’s large. :/ But maybe the dragons he exterminated before were different? Smaller? Less powerful? Maybe Kilgarrah played a bigger role in the war between magic and Uther? The fact that Uther won will always astonish me.  
**4.**  Uther interestingly declares there be a festival in honor of magic’s defeat. I imagine he doesn’t just mean the nobles. Considering there wasn’t that many nobles in sight when he gave the speech. Due to the timeframe of the episode, the celebrations go on for at least four days? The servants in the castle would likely be preparing for the noble’s feast, but the townspeople don’t have such an obligation. So perhaps we’d have seen some kinds of celebration in the Lower town.

**5.**  Really, whats the point of a railing that doesn’t work properly. Im surprised Merlin didn’t find Gaius dead earlier.

**6.** Merlin is careless af.  
**7.** Merlin is at odds with his village and he’s looking for a purpose for his gifts. Deeply sad.  
**8.**  Merlin has a dope ass view, far better than some of the royals, if you ask me. And somehow even Gaius?

**Merlin’s View**

****

**Gaius’ View**

****

  
**9.** Morgana has to greet Lady Helen and not Arthur? Pssssh, sexism.  
**10.** Mary Collins conveniently knows that Lady Helen is coming to the upcoming feast. She also somehow knows exactly where she is. We know she can teleport so the fact that she got to Lady Helen so quickly isn’t a mystery, I guess. And arguably you can explain away the other things with magic, but Mary Collins doesn’t even seem that powerful. In conclusion, Merlin should have been able to teleport as a right of passage. :/  
**11.** Mary Collins kills Lady Helen, where’d she hide the body? Also, she seems pretty used to killing people despite the revenge angle.  
**12.** Next day Gaius is sneaky and Merlin is careless af.  
**13.** Lady Percival? Is that her name or who she’s married to?  
**14.** I forget Sir Olwin isn’t just some random old guy, but a knight as well. I don’t think we see that many knights at that age.  
**15.** Arthur’s goons are ridiculous, but Arthur’s cute even when he’s being mean, haha.

  
**16.** Merlin and Arthur are cute af.  
**17.** Merlin is actually dumb though, I mean what kind of idiot would go up against someone so much more physically capable. How did he expect to use his magic in the middle of a wide spacious area? No twigs there, Merlin.  
**18.** Merlin also seems to be generally a protective and empathetic person to everyone. Which is sweet. (Sounds to me like he already has a purpose for his magic… but I digress.)

**19.** The guards take Merlin to the dungeons which are located below the rest of the castle but above Kilgarrah’s cave? The cells have windows that sometimes let you see the court yard, I believe? Not sure how they fit in structurally.  
**20.** Gaius apparently has “pulled a few strings” to get Merlin out. I wonder with who? Not Uther, Im pretty sure?  
**21.** During Merlin’s punishment we get to see a demographic usually invisible in the show, children. They’re very cute.

  
**22.** Merlin and Gwen are cute af.  
**23.** “You are a question that has never been posed before, Merlin.” - Gaius, I just like this statement.  
**24.** “People used magic for the wrong end at that time. It threw the natural order into chaos. Uther made it his mission to destroy everything from back then, even the dragons.” — What a shit statement, paints magic in a bad light even though it was all Uther’s fault. Gaius has a weird relationship with that guy. Like are they really friends? Ridiculous.  
**25.** Side note: How the hell did Uther manage to kill all the dragons? Like he was having trouble with one and you’re telling me he killed a whole fleet of them? There’s no way they were all dragon lorded to death. And what, were all the dragon lords sleeping or something? I assume it’s not just Balinor’s family line?  
**26.** Uther #1 villain of this story. :/ Also, does Uther feed Kilgarrah? o.o How does he survive?  
**27.** Mary Collins is careless af for someone who has lived in Camelot as a sorcerer. All her incriminating items are on the table! She has an effigy, just lying there! Suspicious much?

  
**28.** Merlin and Arthur actually look like they’re flirting during the fight scene, haha.  
**29.** Gaius is justifiably angry at Merlin for being an idiot.  
**30.** Merlin takes his shirt off for the last time ever.

**31.**

> **MERLIN:**  I’m not a monster, am I?' _  
> __[Gaius looks Merlin in the eye.]_  
>  **GAIUS:** Don’t ever think that.  
>  **MERLIN:** Then why am I like this? Please, I need to know why.  
>  **GAIUS:** Maybe there’s someone with more knowledge than me.  
>  **MERLIN:**  If you can’t tell me, no one can.  

This exchange is actually pretty depressing. He must have been lonely for a long time. I’d imagine he felt similar to Morgana at least once in his life, maybe not. (The feeling of fear towards his magic, I mean)

**32.** Gaius also mentions that there may be someone with more knowledge them him, I take it, that in this episode that's supposed to be Kilgarrah, but really, there should be someone else. I mean Kilgarrah is pretty useless with his shit riddles and his shit prophecies. Makes me wonder how much more healthier and happier Merlin would have been without the whole prophecy spiel. He would have undoubtedly become Arthur's servant without the dragons intervention, after all.

**33.**  Any scene with Mary Collins is actually spooky af, not in a scary way, but in a 90's sitcom Halloween episode kind of way, which I absolutely love.

**34.** Surprised Uther hasn’t remarried. I guess even a monster is capable of love.  
**35.** Dimwitted guards are dimwitted.

**36.** Merlin meets the Great Dragon in an absurdly large cavern. This is some bat cave level shit.

**37.**

> **KILGARRAH:**  Arthur is the Once and Future King who will unite the land of Albion.  
>  **MERLIN:**  Right.  
>  **KILGARRAH:**  But he faces many threats from friend and foe alike.  
>  **MERLIN:**  I don’t see what this has to do with me.

Me too, Merlin. Me too.

**38.** When Merlin wakes up the next morning his room is in ruins because of his magic. This isn’t brought up again if I recall correctly. I wonder what kind of self control is needed to stop his magic even in sleep?  
**39.** It’s always funny to remember that Morgana and Arthur were into each other during the first season, hahaha.  
**40.** There isn’t much point in the serving girl’s death other than displaying the cruelty of Mary Collins. They didn’t even discover her body. Not even Merlin.  
**41.** Good guy Merlin saves prat Prince Arthur, yay.  
**42.** The next day - Gaius presumes that Merlin’s purpose is to protect Arthur. I can only assume Merlin told Gaius what Kilgarrah said, otherwise, cue Gaius’ odd and just plain strange attachment to the royalty of Camelot. That he’s bestowing on Merlin now…


	2. Valiant

1\. That is one dumb sorcerer/merchant. Ain’t even going to be mad at Valiant, also never noticed before but Valiant must have ordered the shield be “magic”ed in advance because that would have to be his family crest. Or else he would have been caught like Lancelot. Not sure why I thought it was a random shield the first time.

  
2\. This is also one of the few times we see Merlin dressed in something else. It would have been cool to see him in different attire more often during the show.

3. I guess this episode has to take place right after episode 1, since Gaius says it was Merlin’s first day as Arthur’s servant. It’s just so hard to believe considering the total tone change. Mary Collins was spooky and you kind of got her plight, Sir Valiant is more shallow and kind of a creep.

4\. I assume the episodes after these first two or more spread out in the continuity, since each season is a year. 

5\. Also, HA! 1,000 gold that no one ever gets. What’s the point of the prize anyway? Everyone participating is part of a noble family. 

6\. UTHER: I trust you will make me proud. - Arthur’s expression is rather heartbreaking. You can tell he’s not taking this lightly and he has to deal with Uther’s shit. :/ 

7\. Guinevere might have had a crush on Merlin, but I kind of feel like she was into Arthur even before Season 1’s finale. Look at her cheer him on! 

8\. Also, the exchange between Arthur and Merlin after Sir Valiant makes his creepy self known is adorable. It looks like Merlin really does want to be friends with Arthur, but then Arthur acts like an ass and ruins it. Probably because servants and princes shouldn’t be friends or something. 

9\. Hahaha, Merlin really shouldn’t be so careless with using his magic. Should have at least guarded the door to see who might come in, while he’s doing his chores magically. 

10\. Oh sure Uther would like Valiant’s “aggressive” style. :/ 

11\. Valiant looks so normal when he’s talking with the other knights. o.o 

12\. Arthur and Uther’s interactions are so painful. Like, geez, so distant, obviously because of Uther’s issues. 

13\. Don’t see why Valiant had to use his shield, he probably would have won the fight. Created his own downfall in the end. Also, everyone in Camelot is blind af. How could no one see the serpents?? They basically surrounded the battlefield and Merlin and Gaius were on the other side. 

14\. Is there no penalty for badly injuring an opponent? I assume they didn’t come there to die.

15\. Also, the people on the stands look like the poorest noble people. 

16\. So, like, what was the purpose of Valiant feeding those snakes? The merchant didn’t tell him to feed them. And they only come alive when he tells them too, well mostly. This is oddly cute? In a really weird way. He really likes those snakes. 

17\. That dead snake looks so rubbery. 

18\. EWAN: I must warn Arthur. - First, Ewan seems to be a knight of Camelot, and if so, I wonder why he chose to participate in the tournament and not a few other knights? Maybe the bear like knight is from Camelot too? Second, damn, even now Arthur’s knights are fiercely loyal to him. 

19\. Good job, Gaius. :/   
20. You know, this whole fiasco could have been avoided if they all came to an agreement where Valiant had to use another shield. :/ 

21\. Uther almost sends Merlin to the dungeons… probably, and is stopped by Valiant. Uther calls Valiant gallant and honorable for this. Though, why he thinks so is beyond me. Uther obviously has different notions of what it means to be gallant and honorable, none of which include being kind to servants. And by sending Merlin there himself, wouldn’t that mean that he lacks these qualities himself? :/  
22\. On a similar note, Uther, by all means, acts nothing like an efficient king. He aggressively attacks magic users and lets anything go on if you’re a noble. Valiant isn’t even in Uther’s trusted circle, yet Uther chooses to believe him over Arthur. 

23\. Uther appears to have no respect for his son what so ever. Arthur’s reaction afterwards, therefore, is to be expected. Dealing with Uther his whole life, he’s probably cracking. 

24\. MERLIN: How can it be my destiny to protect someone who hates me? - Notable because he doesn’t say anything bad about Arthur like the first time. He’s upset that Arthur doesn’t like him.   
25\. I like how Kilgarrah doesn’t say anything of value in this episode. He basically reiterates his first conversation with Merlin. Im surprised Merlin kept coming back to this guy. 

26.

> MERLIN: Why does everyone seem to think it’s down to me to do something about it? 
> 
> GUINEVERE: Because it is! Isn’t it? You have to show everyone that you were right and they were wrong.

 

  * I always thought this was weird too. No offense to Gwen, I love her, but this is kind of unhelpful. She doesn’t really offer up any help, which is okay, she’s only a servant and therefore cant do much, but as far as she knows, Merlin doesn’t have magic, so what’s he supposed to do? He’s just a servant as well.  
  * Also, haha, I wonder what Gwen was thinking after Merlin wheeled away the dog statue.
  * But also, did no one care that some servant was so blatantly stealing a statue from the court yard?



27\. It’s nice to know that even if Arthur was humiliated at court, he still believes Merlin about Valiant.  
28\. Morris, Arthur’s old servant. Goodbye forever.

  
29\. Honestly though, what was Valiant thinking when he sent those snakes down to kill Arthur? He wasn’t getting out of there alive, even if he killed Arthur.

30\. So I suppose all these noble people live in the castle? Along with the knights and what not. It would have been fun to see more of them. We only see them in feasts and courtly stuff, probably spend the whole day lounging about in their rooms watching tv. Lazy good for nothings.

31\. Arthur and Morgana are so cute, it’s a shame what happens.  
32\. Classic Arthur.  
33\. Notable, Merlin and Morgana haven’t officially met yet and he’s spent at least ten days in Camelot now.


	3. The Mark of Nimueh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before I get started, I’ve had a few realizations throughout my recent rewatches that I want to get out of the way. And as a result, I’ll attempt to keep my comments about them brief because it’ll become redundant and it’s honestly nothing new and kind of negative. And no one needs that cause this show is wonderful.
> 
> 1\. First, I hate Uther with a passion, like sooooo deeply, I can complain about how stupid he is for days and not get tired. And I wish he’d just died before everyone’s lives went to shit! Cause you know he’s the main problem. Also it would have been great if his cruelty and senselessness was admonished the same way everyone else’s was or at least to a higher degree. Though the finale of Season 3 will have to do, I guess. Alternatively, I love Anthony Head! He’s so wonderful, I’d 100% watch him in other roles! Such a good actor. And he’s still so captivating when playing Uther, hard to explain. Most, if not all, of the casting is perfect in Merlin.
> 
> 2\. The writing is actually preeeetty bad, like I didn’t notice this my first watch through but somethings just straight up don’t make sense. Half of Camelot is dumb af. Like unreasonably so. Merlin does some stupid things in these episodes but now I think it’s just par for the course in Camelot.
> 
> 3\. I absolutely love the character interactions. Merlin and Arthur have so much chemistry even though season 1 them doesn’t seem that close. Uther and Arthur’s interactions are suitably distant and heart-wrenching. Love “I’ve got a crush on Merlin” Gwen, she’s so cute and innocent. OMG, Morgana and Arthur are hard to watch, they are so into each other. :’D I can honestly say the characters and the actors make up for everything and are the reason I haven’t been able to move on with my life in like three and a half years. (That's when I first watched Merlin)
> 
> 4\. Finally, I cant help but be sad when watching Merlin who looks so happy and has his whole life ahead of him. So much of that disappears by Season 5.
> 
> Alright, that’s about it! Now to move on with the episode. Really liked this one, not as much as the Poisoned Chalice (that's coming up next) but there were a lot of feels from me, haha. Also this is so long! I just realized. I’ll try to shorten this out next episode.

1\. Honestly I’m kind of wandering why Nimueh is apparently just out of her mind at this point in her life. What took her so long to finally consider coming after Uther? She appears to be living in a cave, doesn’t seem to have any contact with anyone (but I’m pretty sure Morgause was her student so where she at?). She attacks everyone but Uther! I guess her goal is to destroy the kingdom but why? Uther should be the real enemy.

2\. Also, how close to Camelot is she? That well of hers goes straight to Camelot’s water supply. (Could have been magicked there though.)  

3\. Nimueh also has the power to view other places through the water, wish Merlin had that power! Would make his life easier, haha.

4\. I love this moment in the show! Look at them, they look like they’re ready to solve some crimes together! Camelot’s police force of two.

5.  Also, that guy scares me so much, his neckerchief and brown jacket kind of looks like Merlin’s sometimes.

6.  Just thought about it, Gwen and Tom are probably one of the more wealthier servant families (as wealthy as you can be as a servant). Tom is a blacksmith, pretty important, and Gwen is Morgana’s maidservant. I would assume such a trusted servant would get paid more.

7.  I love how Merlin and Gaius are just rolling around with a dead body (I know he’s covered but still!). I can’t tell if the guards are just chill because he’s the physician or because they’re just that bad at their jobs.

8.  

> **GUINEVERE:** “Purple suits you.” 

Interesting! Makes me think that Gwen is responsible for that one purple shirt Merlin has!

 

9.  Merlin looks like a fashion model in this shot. :’D 

10.  And so cute in this one! Look at that face!

11.  But like also, sooooo oblivious, does he understand that Gwen likes him? I could understand him not bringing it up cause he just wants to be friends. And I mean he’s like the best friend that you can have.

12.  Then you have Morgana and Gwen! Aw! I loved these two.

13.  

> **GUINEVERE:** Something to cheer you up. I know you’re not sleeping well. 

  *  There are so many references to Morgana’s prophetic dreams reveal.  



14.  Did that nobleman just come into court sick? o.o What was he thinking because clearly the signs started showing way before he died, ie: Tom.

15. 

> **GAIUS:** Sire, I have seen nothing like it. The victims are dying in 24 hours, and it’s spreading fast.

  * I still can’t believe all this happens in less than a week! That’s pretty horrific.



16. 

> **UTHER:** Conduct door to door searches. Increase your presence in the town. Double the guards on all the gates. And lend the physician your servant.

  * This is actually surprising because half the time it doesn’t seem like Uther even remembers who Merlin is, but that might be later seasons.



17. 

> **GAIUS:** No, but it might tell us how it’s spread. One thing I do know, this is magic of the darkest kind.

  * Is it tho? I feel like he’s being a teensy bit over-dramatic. Cause the monster and the spell itself isn’t that strong! I mean, Merlin easily healed Gwen’s father with a magic poultice. It might be cruel and it spreads quickly but clearly easily destroyed. I suspect Nimueh only used something this weak because she didn’t have a full grasp on Merlin’s power. (Did she know he was there at that point?)



18. 

> **GAIUS:** My life’s work, dedicated to the understanding of science. You are quite welcome to read through them if you wish.

  * Arthur looks disinterested. He could have been easily looking at the magic book and wouldn’t have understood. Merlin and Gaius give the knights of Camelot way too much credit.



19.  That face when Arthur looks under Merlin’s bed. Priceless.

20.  Arthur apologizes to Gaius for the interruption. Arthur gives way more respect to Gaius then Uther ever did. Notable because Arthur wasn’t just some prat that Merlin came to miraculously fix and make a great King. Arthur always had that in him. It’s just frequently crushed by his shitty father.

21. 

>   **MERLIN:** Sitting by and doing nothing, that’s a virtue?

  * Well put. 



22.  Science. Science. Science. What does that even mean here??

23.  Those covered bodies are horrific. Plagues freak me out.

24.  Why are most of the victims in the Lower Town? Doesn’t everyone basically get water from the same water supply? Or there are probably more pools? Are people not drinking water… I'm just grasping at straws, I really don’t understand this.

25. 

> **GAIUS:** I wish there was something, anything, but so far the remedy is beyond what I can achieve.

  * I'm pretty sure Gaius does and has been doing nothing for years, selfishly, to protect himself. Merlin can help Gwen’s father. If this was Uther that had gotten sick then Gaius would have encouraged Merlin to save him. In a way, this isn’t too dissimilar from what Arthur goes through in the Poisoned Chalice, Uther forbids Arthur from saving Merlin because he believes Merlin’s life is worth less than Arthur's. Gaius doesn’t say it so up frontally but what else can you call letting a bunch of innocent people die to protect what is basically your child from himself.
  * Though, arguably, healing Gwen’s father wouldn’t have looked good for anyone. I'm sure there could have been a way tho. If they just collaborated a bit. Maybe Merlin could have healed more people, less suspicious.



26.  Also, Gaius puts the flower that Gwen gave to Merlin in the enchanted water! :O That’s a bad omen if I’ve ever seen one.

27. 

> **UTHER:** And I can’t stand by and watch our people dying.

  * Cough-bull-Cough-shit, I'm sure Uther’s totally not worried about the sickness coming to him. :)  



28. 

> **GUINEVERE:** That’s really weird because I haven’t told anyone, but you know. How could you know?

  * I like how in the first season we get many of these little bits where people are just questioning Merlin and even the other strange things around them, but by season 5 you can just tell they’ve accepted all the strange shit that happens in Camelot, haha. Everyone who came later on has no excuse though!  



29.  Tom you are oblivious.

30.  There’s the infamous poultice! Really, Merlin! And also, are you kidding me to Tom and Gwen as well? No one picked up the pillow, really?

31. 

> **ARTHUR:** Seize her.

  * Everything after this is terrifying. Watching Gwen be arrested is probably the worst situation to watch every time. She’s the last person who deserves such awful treatment. I’ve also still got the image of her as Queen too, and nope, she needs more respect than this. The shit she has to deal with, I swear.
  * Also, I hate watching the future King of Camelot arresting the future Queen of Camelot.



32. 

> **GAIUS:** It’s too late! They think Gwen’s a sorceress! They think she caused the disease!

  * It’s too late because of you tho. :) (Im starting to think, that I have a certain loathing for all the older people in this show. One bad decision after the other. :’D)



33.  Im not even going to talk about Uther’s sentence. Too much resentment.

34. 

> **UTHER:** Have you ever seen an enchantress? Believe me, they bear no sign, no mark. There is no sense of evil in the eye.

  * Yeeeeees, but what about the smirks tho?



35. 

> **MORGANA** : I’ve seen the way the girl works. Her fingers are worn, her nails are broken. If she was a sorceress, why would she do this? Why would she kneel on a cold stone floor morning after morning when she could make these things happen with a snap of her fingers? Like an idle king!

  * Notable because Merlin.



36.  I do looooove that face Arthur makes when he’s really pissed at Uther! Also, made me feel better after watching him with Gwen.

37.  Im not going to go over Merlin’s conversation with Gaius either. Also a lot of resentment. Merlin deserves better.

38.  Why the hell did they chain Gwen up? I get it, sorceress, blahblahblah, they didn’t do this to Arthur, not Merlin either, I think Morgana did get chained as well tho? o.O Creeps. :( I could be wrong tho? It’s hard to recall because there have been so many instances of jail throwing and what not.

39. 

> GUINEVERE: It’s alright. Don’t worry about me. There’s no point crying about it. I mean…I mean, I’m not saying that you were going to cry about me. Obviously I don’t think that.

  * Even on death row.



40. 

> **GAIUS:** But the emergency supply won’t last for much longer. We have to find a way of cleansing the water of the disease.   
>  **UTHER:** But how?   
>  **GAIUS:** Well…   
>  (The doors open and Merlin bursts in)

  * Hahaha, I really love how they do these little things.  



41.  Arthur probably really believes that Merlin’s in love with Gwen, in the Poisoned Chalice everyones shipping them.

42.   Afancs are no joke. The ones in legend are far more interesting than the one in the show tho!

43.  Episode 3, Kilgarrah is still barely helpful. Shocker.

44.  Honestly I don’t think Arthur was actually needed in this little adventure? o.O I guess, since he’s a knight he would have been able to protect them better just in case the Afanc was too much to deal with. But I didn’t get that impression. If anything Arthur is just the fall guy to take the credit.

45.  Gonna be a little contradictory but I love it when Uther laughs. He always seems like he can be a less terrible person.

46.  Nimueh’s mark? Like a family crest? Who else has marks? Morgause?  

47.  This is the first time we see Merlin and Gaius have their end of the episode dinners!


	4. The Poisoned Chalice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, guys! It’s been a while. Thought I’d do this rewatch list today because I kind of wanna watch the next episode but can’t unless I get all my thoughts down for this one. This may also be the last one for a while because I have classes coming up and I probably wont have time to write anything.
> 
> I'm going to start off by saying, this has actually always been one of my favorite episodes. It’s just really great character wise and we get to see other people than Merlin getting the job done. Also I love Nimueh as a villain! She’s always been one of my favorites even though she was in like only three episodes. I wish she’d lived longer and got more developed.

1\. Interestingly, Nimueh seemed to discover Merlin’s worth right away. Pretty sure she knows about Merlin’s destiny. She knows about Arthur’s or the fact that she’s not the one meant to kill him. But why would she assume that she could take Merlin down if that were the case. Again, a good assumption would be that she’s just off her rocker at this point in life. Her plan doesn’t make much sense this episode.

2\. I’ve always liked this road to Camelot. Im not sure where it’s placed exactly. Maybe in the back or the side? It’s also the same road Lancelot took to leave Camelot and Gwaine. No one wants to leave through the city I guess.

3\. Funny enough, I think there were a lot of new shots in this episode. Scenery wise because the whole way through I thought they were outside of Camelot. Which makes no sense.

4\. Also, can Uther and Bayard look any more like assholes, geez. So dramatic.

5.  Another example of a person in Camelot wearing neck wear!

6.  Look at her, what kind of servant walks like that! Worst actor ever, Nimueh!

7.  Ha! Gaius is so done with these young-ins! And Im surprised Gaius didn’t recognize her. Is she wearing a different face from twenty years ago? Or does he really just not recall? Uther should have at least recognized with the amount of hatred he has for her.

8.  I also like the nod to Merlin’s love for Nimueh that’s in the legends. It would have been cool to see how that kind of thing would have played out.

9.  No guards? Really? Thats a pretty important room.

10.  There are a lot pretty interesting things that happen outside of what is shown. We don’t see how Nimueh gets the identical goblet. How she knows what to look for? She may have infiltrated the kingdom to hear some information. I guess she could have also looked through her little water well.

11.  Feast of Beltane. I really like the importance this feast is given. It appears frequently through the series and gives some more insight on the day to day of Camelot.

12.   Hahaha, Oh Merlin.

13.  Arthur’s so proud of himself too.

14.  He truly does look ridiculous.

15.  It seems that at this point we’re beginning to see an Arthur and Merlin that are closer. From the last episode they seemed to have a lot of distance still. Im not saying they didn’t care about each other but now we’re seeing them become friends. And it’s very clear from the way they are behaving. Especially Arthur.

16.  Nimueh and Merlin again. I really do wish something bigger happened between them. Not in a love kind of way. Just a worthy opponent.

17.  You so oblivious, Merlin.

18.  Well, here comes Nimueh’s convoluted plan. What I don’t understand is why she didn’t just poison Uther’s cup. She didn’t have to tell anyone. No one would have found out. Uther would have been dead so quick. Yet she goes for Arthur’s cup? Hmmmm, And obviously she was just doing it to tell Merlin, so that he’d get killed. But the whole purpose of killing Merlin is so he’d be out of the way…….

19.  Morgana looks so much more engaged than Arthur! It’s priceless.

20.  Cue Uther’s asshole ways. Yes, let the servant die, he doesn’t have anything better to do, but I can imagine what would have happened if Uther let Bayard drink the goblet. Bayard be dead and his kingdom probably wiped out by Uther. Also, Bayard, dumb much? Why would anyone come to enemy territory to sign a treaty. That could easily go wrong and it did! They should have met somewhere else for equal ground.

21.  Uther is so willing to let Merlin die, it makes me wonder why he would even gift Merlin with being Arthur’s manservant. After that first episode, it’s deeply out of character for him to acknowledge the things Merlin does to protect Arthur. He literally could have just ignored Merlin that first episode. Must have been feeling generous or something.

22.  If that’s not the face of a man that cares, I don’t know what is. I wonder what Arthur would have done if it wasn’t poisoned and Merlin was handed over to Bayard.

23.  Also, why you trying to look so cool Merlin!

24.  It’s always driven me crazy how the goblet was in Merlin’s right hand to begin with, as he’s choking and falling it disappears and then when he hits the floor it’s back again. Like okay.

25.  #Merlinshouldhavebeenaknight

26.  Morgana with that knife. What’s interesting is that we don’t actually see her moves with the sword yet, so she just looks like some feisty upper class lady.

27.  I also really like how everyone that cares about Merlin runs to him. Merlins means a lot to everyone. 

28.  I wonder how old Gaius’ books are. In the last episode Gaius called the books “his life’s work”. Makes me wonder what his life was like before the purge. I assume afterwards it was just like it was in the show. It’s hard to imagine Gaius going into the forest of Balor and drawing a Cockatrice. But on the other hand, he doesn’t seem familiar with the subject either. Stating only whats in the book rather than from any experience. So maybe this particular book could have belonged to someone else?   Maybe before the great purge physicians flourished in Camelot but were all wiped out because they were magic users?

29.  I really like Merlin and Arthur’s sense of duty. I also really love how much Arthur seems to care for Merlin in this episode.

30.  Also, wow, Jesus, okay, Gaius, just let Merlin die then. I suppose.

31.  And WOW, okay, guards, she’s walking straight out of the castle??? 

32.  Ah, hello, Uther, what exactly makes what Gaius says definitely a fools errand? Where is this even coming from, you old git??

33.  In a way, it’s not so surprising that Morgana turns out to be more like Uther in the future seasons. They apparently hang out all the time. :/

34.  This looks like the same road Merlin took to Camelot. haha

35.  So like, I just wanna point out, Nimueh just decided to wear that tattered dress. She is basically homeless from what it looks like but from her little run as a handmaiden, she’s clearly not incapable of getting decent clothes. Like why?

36.  The cockatrice looks kinda cute tbh

37.  :O

38.  Also, wow, okay, aint nothing like getting lost in a place you’re completely familiar with, aye, Nimueh.

39.  Merlin is so powerful, he’s always doing magic in his sleep. Even across distances while he’s ill. I wonder how he does it?

40.  

> NIMUEH: It’s not your destiny to die at my hand

  * She doesn’t seem to know his destiny that well if she thinks the spiders are gonna kill him off.



41.  Apparently the guards are only useful when trying to stop the good guys.

42.  Why would Gaius tell Gwen that they needed magic for the cure? He’s out of his mind.

43.  Also kudos to Gaius for risking his life by using magic to save his ward. This appears to be the first time he’s done it in a while. And it would seem to be a pivotal point for his character.

44.  Aww, Gwen’s kiss. Makes me wonder what the writers were planning? Definitely seems like nothing and more of a tease. Cause their relationship was never going anywhere romantic.


	5. Lancelot

1\. It’s always nice to see Merlin picking herbs. His identity as a physician was always nicely separated from being Arthur’s manservant. And look at those cute mushrooms.

  
2\. We don’t really get to see Uther go outside the castle very much, it seems. It’s interesting to see him out but I’m wondering how far away this village is.

 

3\. Also, the village looks so nice??? The houses look massive and there’s some kind of tower or hall on fire? This is no farming village for sure and when we compare it to Merlin’s village or one of the other ones they’ve hung out in, it doesn’t look like its for peasants. 

  
4\. Always nice to see Camelot, tragic we didn’t get to see more of it. Also, there seems to be so many two story building but for the life of me, I don’t think we’ve seen anything passed one story unless it was a castle. 

  
5\. Arthur is so full of himself during the uhhhh, knight exam? But can you blame him? Everyone’s so dumb in Camelot.   
6\. Also, can’t believe Arthur just accepted that Merlin was friends with a noble.  
7\. Everyone’s so cute this episode, but so sad when you think about what happens in the future.   
8\. Homework?? Okay, Merlin.   
9\. Lancelot’s so cute calling Gwen “My Lady” :’D  
10\. I swear some of these trainee knights are as tiny as Merlin. Further proof Merlin should have been a knight. :/

  
11\. Gwen’s also hanging out an awful lot with these two, what’s Morgana doing through all this time?  
12\. So cute.

  
13\. Arthur just likes to have fights with people in the town.  
14\. The clothes some of these people wear astounds me.

  
15\. This guy looks like a fashion model.

  
16\. Why you gotta be so dramatic Arthur. Yelling and screaming and what not. 

 

  
17\. The ceremony scene is hilarious. Everyone’s hanging around and liking each other secretly. We have Arthur/Morgana, Lancelot/Gwen, Gwen/Merlin. And Merlin’s just over there happy being himself, oblivious af. 

(Funny actually cause it looks like Merlin is the one trying to decide who he likes)

18\. Uther being Uther. Guess I can’t blame him for this one, but I can blame him when he dismisses the Griffin as a magical creature. That’s just plain stupid.   
19\. Why are there so little knights in the courtyard??? Did they take sick leave or what?   
20\. I’m glad Merlin called Gaius out on his shit, didn’t change anything, but at least he did it. Also I don’t like how Gaius completely overlooked the fact that Merlin was scared.   
21\. Its always interesting to me how Gwen will always run to Merlin when there’s trouble. She knows from experience that he’ll get the job done, but it’s like her and so many people were in denial about Merlin’s magic.   
22\. This guy is soooo upset that this king and his bitch ass son are interrupting his scroll looking time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so having some distance from the show for like 3 months. I’ve become less annoyed at Uther (he’s still terrible but whatever) and Gaius (also still terrible but I’m okay with it). I’m pretty committed to talking about what I’ve enjoyed about the show rather than the smooth road to hell all of the characters have paved for themselves, haha.
> 
> That being said, this episode (Lancelot) was sadly lacking in the Morgana department, she appears for a few minutes or seconds a time unfortunately. The Merlin and Arthur friendship/love was also at an all time low. Though where those areas lacked we had some lovely time with Merlin/Lancelot, Lancelot/Gwen, and Lancelot/Arthur, I swear no matter how you look at it, anyone can be shipped together in this show. It’s an added bonus that they’re all so beautiful.


	6. A Remedy to Cure All Ills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I’m going to be keeping these shorter from the first rewatches I did. It’s just easier for me and I think a little bit easier to read. Also thinking of posting some other thoughts separately. A lot keeps coming to my head, like everyone’s backgrounds and actions. Overall, loved this episode! Easier to watch than Lancelot, though only because I was sad the whole time for that episode, haha. Wish they did more with Muirden, feel like the fact that his parents were “dark magic” sorcerers, was a cop out. Like suuuuure he was evil, that’s why he had to die. :/ Also, is it just me, or do these episodes seem to be lacking in Arthur and Merlin interaction? I mean, I guess they cant be together all the time, but I thought they were together all the time. Maybe the next few episodes will prove different.

1\. It’s been so long since I’ve seen this episode, the intro actually got me quite confused. Im wondering wear Muirden is doing all his magical shenanigans. Does he have a house in Camelot? Maybe he moved in earlier that week to enact his plans. 

2\. Also wondering if all these scientific tools mean anything? Or they were jobs props to make him look more believable. I always found it strange how Uther readily accepted “science” considering how most of it in real life was likely taken as some kind of witchcraft. 

3\. I’m surprised Morgana got so little love interests to be honest. 

4\. As usual guards seem to be in tip top shape, letting any suspicious person roam the castle grounds at night. 

5\. It’s hard to watch the first season without recalling everything that happens later, but it’s nice to see Morgana cared for in these episodes. Uther clearly loves her, so does Arthur, Gwen, Merlin. I’d include Gaius but he was gonna let her die, so no thank you. 

6\. It’s interesting to note that Gaius was clearly in the wrong here. Like no doubt about it, he was going to let her die like he let all those other people die during the magical genocide. I don’t know what impression the show tried to give us of Gaius, while I was watching it during the first round, he seemed to be a father figure for Merlin that was just trying to teach his well meaning but rather stupid nephew right from wrong. It’s clear to me, however, that in many ways it was Merlin teaching Gaius to be a better person.

7\. Muirden could have been a very cool character if he wasn’t made so obviously evil and selfish. Same with many of BBC Merlin’s villains, to be honest. I like how sly he is, and though many sorcerers who came to Camelot were, he’s got an interesting personality in my opinion. 

8\. Arthur is positively boring in this episode, unfortunately. Doesn’t get much lines, doesn’t even have that much action in any sort of way. 

9\. Loved the one of two interactions he and Merlin had tho. So cute. Look how upset he is. 

10\. Oh boy, Muirden is very good at playing the ass kisser, that’s probably why Uther likes him so much. 

11\. DAT EVIL SMILE THO. Always so extra with these people.

12\. Honestly, I’m of the mind that Uther could have changed if he knew about Morgana’s magic. I mean he clearly loved her so much. I don’t know if Uther’s just gone insane with age or what? Like he was supposed to be a good strategic king but he’s definitely not in the series. I mean you cant just kill all the dragons with no brains. Camelot would have been wiped out. Perhaps insanity does run in the family and Morgana’s just the one who inherited it. Plus I think even if Gaius is a piece of shit, he’d have had to had a reason for such loyalty to Uther. I mean he didn’t even leave with his gf. 

13\. I think this is about as careless as you can get, Merlin is found out by Muirden so quick! Like try harder! But he’s so happy and innocent. So cute.

14\. Kind of wish we knew more about Geoffrey and Gaius. If we think about it, they’re both very educated people. I’m assuming Geoffrey is some kind of noble? But I don’t remember much about him. Both him and Gaius seem too educated to be from common families, but who knows how that works in this world. 

15\. Okay, tho, Uther is having dinner with Muirden, who looks like a commoner himself despite being educated. Uther’s thoughts on the peasant class seem to vary? 

16\. I’d like to note that Gaius feels like the villain in the episode. We see him do all these sleazy things, like check in on Muirden, which is okay, he was suspicious, but once he confronts him? Nope, he doesn’t even go straight to the point about his suspicions. He just tells Muirden that he knows of his magic and threatens to tell Uther about it. This is exactly the kind of thing Morgana would have done in season 3. He even gives him the evil smirk. Like whaaaat? Okay. The revenge bit comes after Muirden threatens Merlin. 

17\. I really don’t like the fact that Gaius apparently had to think about whether to save Uther or Merlin but whatever. I mean Gaius doesn’t even look like he likes Uther that much. They barely share any sense of comradery. Uther always second guessing Gaius and Gaius always lying to Uther, which I admit sounds eerily like Merlin and Arthur, but you can see the love between those two. 

18\. Also, poor Morgana, sticking up for Gaius even though he doesn’t help her when she needs it.

19\. Merlin is so cute sleeping like that. 

20\. You tell him, terrible dragon man. I do like it when Kilgharrah is all spiteful like that.

21\. Merlin and Arthur’s second interaction is okay, but it really shows the lack of closeness that their relationship started out with. We know Arthur and Merlin are both willing to die to help each other and other people for that matter but Arthur doesn’t really seem to get how hard losing Gaius could be for Merlin. 

22\. Love seeing Gwen tell people what’s what. 

23\. Okay, though, for all the people Merlin’s killed over the years, I can safely say at least this one really isn’t his fault. He was literally acting in self defense. Hell he didn’t really even know what was going on this episode. And he helped Uther because helping people’s what he does. He hasn’t even actively tried to kill anyone yet…

24\. Uther does his whole spiel of making Gaius a free man and decided to never distrust him again, but well we know how that goes. Also, from what I read, Celtic free people got to wear a knife around their belt. That would have been dope. Though this show isn’t really that Celtic apart from some Celtic knots here and there? Pretty pointless if you ask me. 


	7. The Gates of Avalon

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Im posting this one a bit late cause yesterday was hectic!
> 
> This episode was great, I think one of the aspects of this show that makes it so wonderful is the comedy. No matter what season, there is always some laugh out loud moments, sprinkled with general humor, and some fond day to day moments. I think it’s because of stuff like this that makes it so hard to move on from Merlin as a show. We get to see that they have happy lives outside of the many murderous sorcerers. Not to forget, we only get like 13 episodes each season and from my estimations each episode is usually a week. We know that everything happens in the span of 10 years as well (each season being around a year) , so there’s just so much interactions and situations we know they’re not showing us. That said, I absolutely love how cute Merlin is when he interacts with Arthur. You really do get the sense that he thinks fondly of him, whether in a romantic or brotherly way. And he’s just so interested in getting Arthur together with Sophia! Like what a romantic.
> 
> Also Im finding it honestly strange how little Merlin and Arthur get to truly interact properly together in Season 1. I mean, in episode 1, they just meet and see each other sporadically through out the week, in Valiant we actually get to see them start getting to know each other but they’re not that close, in Mark of Nimueh Merlin is mainly focused with curing Camelot, in The Poisoned Chalice Merlin is poisoned and unconscious, in Lancelot he’s trying to help Lancelot become a knight, A Remedy to Cure All Ills sees Merlin focused on Muirden, and in Gates of Avalon Arthur is mostly enchanted and spending his time with Sophia. Liiiike, do they get any alone time?
> 
> As for the rest of the episode, I absolutely hated Sophia, like so happy she died. I was shocked by how she died but all the same. Aulfric I couldn’t care less for either, they were just both so full of them selves. And it’s pretty obvious that they deserved what they got. They murdered another Sidhe after all and their only punishment was being mortals. Morgana was amazing! I really love that we kind of see a darker part of herself in this episode. It’s a shame the way she was written. I think she and Merlin were very similar, and it would have probably been the most powerful dynamic, high priestess and Emrys.
> 
> Well, with that out of the way! Here’s my thoughts on everything else.

1\. I feel like every Merlin opening scene is always surprising to me, apparently I’ve forgotten most of them. They were always so wonderfully done. 

2\. You cant really blame Arthur for being mad at Merlin during his hunt. Merlin straight up runs right into him while he’s focusing. 

  
3\. I don’t really think tree branches kill people that easily even if they’re that big but I guess since Arthur doesn’t care, I wont. 

  
4\. Interesting to note, Arthur doesn’t expect anything of Merlin at this point in time. He doesn’t say anything about Merlin not fighting also because he’s a servant or maybe because he could handle everyone on his own. Im wondering why he complains about him cowering in the background so much in the later seasons, like what is he supposed to do? 

5.  **Merlin:**  And let that be a lesson to you!  
               a. He’s adorable, the look Arthur gave him is even better.

               b. Also I laughed out loud when he did this, never expected it, but I probably should have

6\. Hate them so much. And how do they not look suspicious?? They straight up look like sorcerers. They have staffs!! What’s wrong with you, Uther? 

  
7\. Merlin just wants Arthur to be happy and they haven’t even known each other that long. But to be honest, Merlin is always trying to set people up so this isn’t new. 

  
8\. Poor Morgana. I honestly think a part of Morgana’s later betrayal might have to do with her ability as a seer. I mean, Merlin only sees a few premonitions and they ruin his life. Maybe Morgana’s finally drove her insane. Though my personal head canon is that Morgana would have been able to handle it better since she was born with it. 

  
9\. Bitch needs to die.

  
10\. What’s interesting about this episode is that Gaius seems to be in extreme denial about Morgana’s abilities for both their sake. Like really it comes to the point that he should just be honest with himself and Morgana. 

  
11\. Hate him. 

  
12\. Another interesting thing I learned, Morgana discussed her dreams with Gwen. Both her and Gwen knew that what she was dreaming might be magic. What we see is that Gwen had no signs of fearing Morgana, and she even believed that Uther would overlook his own beliefs on magic because of his love for his ward (daughter). Cant blame Morgana for fearing Uther tho. 

  
13. **Uther:**  If this was a time of war, I would have you flogged.

       **Merlin:**  And since it’s not, We’ll let it go just this once?

  
               a. Haha, Merlin really has a way with words. Also, I can’t believe he speaks to Uther this way. 

  
14\. These people find way too much enjoyment in this.

  
15\. I’ve figured it out, the real enemy to Camelot is the Knights! They almost shot him in the face. O.o

  
16\. Symbols on Aulfric’s staff.

  
17\. Also do these red eyes not work on sorcerers? That’s pretty pathetic considering these people were Sidhe once and the eyes suggests they have some kind of power left.

  
18\. Dark!Morgana fighting to protect her friends would have been a far more interesting scenario. Look at her beautiful face when it’s not directed at Camelot.

  
19\. HATE HER. So full of herself. 

  
20\. I feel like they showed more of Merlin’s time slowing ability in the first season? Like what happened with it? Why wouldn’t he use it like all the time? Honestly it seems like Gaius made Merlin weaker if he taught him to stop using such a great ability. 

21\. WHY ARE YA’LL SO EXTRA?

  
22\. Is this from anything? Or did they make it up?

  
23\. The one time I agree with Uther executing someone and he lets them go so easily. :/

24\. I really wish Uther wasn’t such a terrible person. I probably still love him just because of the actor but imagine if Uther redeemed himself? Though that doesn’t really happen in Merlin. No redemption, everyone dies or is dead inside. :/ Much like the fanbase after Season 5, amirite?

  
25\. It was day time when Merlin passed out and around the morning when Gaius found him. Can someone explain to me what Gaius was doing? Did he like literally check every other room in the castle before Arthur’s room? 

  
26\. The only cute bit between them, but they’re also murderous pieces of shit, so…. 

  
27\. Okay, so like this was the most horrifying thing I’ve ever witnessed like damnnnnn. :’D Like almost funny because holy shit… and all the while Sophia is horrified. I strongly feel that a lot of this was in bad taste. It’s not like he’s killing off Griffins here, these are still people even though they’re horrible people. Though the worst part is is that if they hadn’t shown the father/daughter bond right before, this wouldn’t have seemed that terrifying, so what was the point???

28\. I get why Merlin wouldn’t reveal his own secret to Morgana, but I think it was in bad taste when Gaius tried to pretend like Morgana’s dreams weren’t premonitions and just kept giving her the sleeping drafts. This episode to me, seemed like a pivotal point for Morgana, if she was given more honesty she probably could have been far more comfortable with herself and far less scared.


	8. The Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, Imma just come right out and say it, I did not care for this episode whatsoever. I found it infuriating all the way through, both by the characters’ actions and the way all the events were portrayed. It seems like every episode for me is a struggle between just how much I hate Uther, haha. I mean sometimes he can be real sweet to Morgana (never to Arthur), but other times he’s just a psychotic piece of shit. :/ It’s kind of crazy just how blind Uther becomes when magic is merely mentioned, as we’ve seen from episode 7 people don’t have to look magical for Uther to be suspicious of them. Hell he wouldn’t know magic if it bit him on the ass. And Uther is not the only one that was far too annoying this time around.
> 
> I don’t think I’ve ever been so confused and frankly disappointed in so many people’s actions at once. First we have Merlin, he starts off the episode doing the right thing, he saves Mordred and they escape together to Morgana’s room, risking the fact that she may give them up, but the fact that he went in there tells me that he clearly trusts her enough to at least be 80% sure she wouldn’t give up a child. But as we go on and he talks to that garbage dragon in the caves, he starts to have doubts about Mordred. Kilgharrah doesn’t even say Mordred will kill Arthur yet, he just tells Merlin that he should not protect Mordred. Afterwards it’s like we start to see an inkling of the Merlin from season 5 who was willing to look the other way even though it meant letting an innocent person die. You know Merlin is truly in the wrong when he says he’s going to do nothing just like Gaius wants him to. Which should be a red flag right there. Fortunately Merlin did come to save Arthur and Mordred, I take that as season 1 Merlin still having some sense of self.
> 
> Gaius is Gaius as usual but the situation really brings out the character in him that did nothing for the rest of the sorcerers. I mean, we know he kept some people safe, like his gf and Balinor, but I’m thinking he’s more of a selfish guy. He keeps close friends and family safe while everyone else is executed. He just had so much willingness to do nothing in this episode and was so angry that Morgana and Merlin involved him. On one hand he doesn’t want to be executed or Merlin for that matter, probably doesn’t want Morgana in that position either, but on the other hand, Mordred is a child and a druid.
> 
> Arthur was trying, it’s good to see him on the child’s side. The fact that he was willing to give up for his terrible terrible father was annoying tho. And the fact that he insistently loves his piece of shit father is annoying too, but I get it. I was also annoyed when he was so rude to Merlin, when Merlin walked in on him and Morgana, but whatever. Loved that scene with him, Merlin, and the keys tho! It’s good they always have some humor sprinkled in.
> 
> Gwen was understandably afraid for Morgana. Keeping the druid hidden could mean punishment, but I felt like she wasn’t concerned enough for Mordred either. Like if at any point the problem went away she would sleep easier, no matter how it was done. To be fair, Gwen was thinking Morgana was acting strange. And in a way she was. She seemed a little bit too obsessive of Mordred and far too close to a boy whose name she didn’t even know. Though, honestly Morgana’s actions seemed to be the only ones that made sense from a kindhearted point of view.
> 
> Though, I can’t quite put my finger on Morgana’s state of mind in this episode. Somethings clearly off about the way she’s going about it even though she’s doing everything technically right. I don’t really understand what the show writers were trying to get at. She only seems obsessive due to their decision that she is. I mean why else? Is there some kind of evil magical power that’s influencing her to keep Mordred alive so he can kill Arthur one day? Give me a break. That’s about the dumbest thing ever. It seems like “destiny” is the only driving force in this episode and “destiny” was just as annoying when it turned Morgana evil, made Mordred betray Arthur, then proceeded to let Arthur die after Camlann and finally forced Merlin to live a long lonely life waiting for Arthur to come back. That wasn’t the only thing either, all the way throughout the episode they were playing that incessant music where something bad is going to happen every time Mordred was in the shot (ok, maybe not all the time but a lot). Basically the only reason we should think Mordred is evil and should die is because the show is blatantly telling us this, especially when his name is revealed.
> 
> In conclusion, Mordred is cute, was always cute, and deserved a hell of a lot better than what the show or Merlin gave him.
> 
> And if ya’ll aren’t bored already, here’s some pics and smaller comments! :)

1\. Mordred’s so cute and small. It’s so sad that his (probably) father dies right when we meet them.

2\. Basically like the dumbest looking nazis ever.

3\. It’s pretty dumb of them to run straight into the heart of Camelot’s castle, liiiiiiike??

4\. Some of these knights think they’re in an action film.

5\. I wish he survived. This show killed too many people off.

6\. No one saw the boy in plain sight?? This is like a new low for these idiots.

7\. Love this shot.

8\. Okay tho, I’d like to add, Im pretty sure they showed Mordred destroy that mirror to portray his destructive capabilities? But like his father (figure) just died. So ya’ll could go screw yourselves. Though it might just be to display his power? I don’t know.

9\. I swear, these two are so dumb. The amount of dishonesty in Camelot is alarming. Like Merlin is unsure whether he can trust Morgana with his magic and she is equally confused by the way he looks at her when she says magic chooses the person, but she doesn’t really mention her own belief that she might have magic either because she doesn’t trust him like that. o.o Meanwhile everyone’s spouting phrases like “Uther believes he has magic, and that makes him guilty.” “The Druids would see your father’s kingdom destroyed.” Which makes all parties so confused. Like what up, guys?

10\. These boots tho.

11\. So glad Arthur got a new room. I think starting season 2, he sleeps somewhere else? Tho I could be mistaken.

12\. I always thought Morgana was rather stupid for picking the brightest cape to sneak through in the night. Im pretty sure this was Gwen’s cape from how it looks. So less dumb but still pretty stupid.

13\. Uther is the worst father ever. Doesn’t seem to care about Arthur apart from him being King one day and he treats his only daughter like trash, all the while telling her how he only keeps her there because of the promise he made to her father… He should go die under a rock somewhere.

14\. I like seeing these two together lamenting over Mordred’s predicament. It reminds me of Arthur and Merlin. These two could have been great together. :/

15\. Is Uther really going to eat all that?  o.o I see where Arthur gets all those extra belt holes from.

16\. Despite everything, this part made me smile. It’s amazing that in this world, that child becomes Arthur’s knight, a mere 8 years later. So cute. I loved their relationship in season 5, super depressing for Merlin on so many levels, but Mordred deserved the short lived happiness he managed to have. I wish he got to live.

17\. Iseldir doesn’t nearly have enough screen time, not many of the druids do. The problem with this series as a whole is that it focused on all the sorcerers and magical creatures that were trying to kill Arthur and not all the Druids and other magical creatures that were being persecuted and generally living worse lives because of Uther. It’s like this show set up the fight between magic and Camelot and gave us a whole bunch of personal vendettas instead.


	9. Excalibur

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Edit: I've placed the notes inside the text this time because it's way too long.

Excalibur is a nice breath of fresh air after the last episode and perfectly placed as well. While The Beginning of the End focused on all the bad that would come in the Camelot’s future, Excalibur was giving us a more prosperous future, where Arthur would lead Camelot with his famed sword. Though, it isn’t named in this episode, or in any episode (from my recollection), we know what it is and just like Mordred’s name reveal, Excalibur’s identity is cemented in the end of the episode, when Merlin throws it into the Lake.

There’s a lot of fondness that go into the little moments in Excalibur, and so many interesting interactions between Uther and Gaius, Merlin and Arthur, Gwen and Merlin, Uther and Merlin, etc. Basically all the interactions and though I don’t usually like Uther, he does come off better in this episode, both by his protectiveness of Arthur and how he chooses to react with this case of magic. I think if we got this type of King every episode, his suitability on the throne would be less questionable. It would have been nice to see an Uther who struggled with his own laws on magic or even the laws on his own people.

An interesting thing about the Merlin series, is that quite honestly the side you should be rooting for is ambiguous at best once you get passed all the obvious ques they want us to take. More often than not the villains are framed to be more villainous than they should be. Mordred’s episode was filled with dark overtones, both in the situation he was placed in and the actual cinematography, Edwin Muirden was just a child when his parents were burnt at the stake and they just so happened to be using “dark magic”, whatever that really means, Nimueh witnessed everyone she loved die because of Uther’s war on magic, she is filled with thoughts of revenge but when we see her talk to Uther, she seems so distraught and regretful for what happened as a result of Igraine’s death. Our heroes, on a similar note, display darker tendencies. Gaius is one of the more obvious ones, by both his actions (Trying to avoid most current conflicts) and his history (Not joining in the fight against Uther), Merlin is very earnest but he kills people without batting an eye and is quite joyful when they die (I understand that he’s just happy he beats them and saves Arthur, but still), Morgana shows her own type of darkness when she goes against Sophia or Uther (while many of her distraught and happier expressions faded, the expressions where she is truly angry stayed to form her later character), Arthur by his own admission has killed since he was born and by season 4 we find out how that extends to the magical community. Gwen seems chill though, there doesn’t seem to be anything dark about her, she just seems to be thinking all the time.

Another thing I’ve been learning is even though Merlin didn’t love Arthur right on that first episode, every episode afterwards has shown us examples of how much Merlin wants to be Arthur’s friend. Merlin constantly looks at Arthur with admiration, he goes above and beyond just so Arthur can get a girlfriend for god’s sake, and in this episode he even creates Arthur’s most treasured sword. I admit, I’m stretching that last point a bit, after all he did it so Arthur would be able to beat the Wraith, but Merlin didn’t have to go out of his way to go to Gwen and obtain her father’s best sword. And he was so proud of himself when he was waiting in the armory. Without these circumstances I can easily see Merlin doing the exact same thing but as a birthday gift or something.

Alright, I’m going to stop gushing over Merlin and give ya’ll some specifics

* * *

 

1. I love when this show gives us some new scenery and it’s always fun to find out more about the castle. They have a lot of things hidden in the lower levels.

2. Classic Nimueh, there’s no way to be evil other than laughing maniacally. I wonder if that’s how we’re supposed to separate Uther from the rest of them.

3. The contrast between how Merlin stares at Arthur and how everyone else does is just so bizarre. Here Arthur is being crowned and everyone looks so serious and then we have Merlin, who is just holding back a smile. (I don’t know if it’s obvious in this pic, but it’s wonderful) (Though, I should add that Uther does smile during the crowning and everyone else does after Arthur is crowned, haha)  

And Gwen knows it too. 

4. SO DRAMATIC. USE THE DOOR. (Side note: He didn’t have to go get a horse, he was just down stairs) (Other side note: Everyone in the Pendragon/Du Bois family is a drama queen)

5. Tristan’s sigil! Apparently he’s the only one that has it? But I don’t get why it would be different from the rest of his family’s?

6. This is a great shot, they like to do this a lot.

7. Sir Owain, an unfortunate red shirt with the name of a legendary knight, I’ll never understand why this show was so fond of killing random knights from the Arthurian Legend. Im okay with it though, his personality was so blah. And literally everyone was concerned?? I get Arthur (because he’s his knight), but everyone else? Does Morgana hang out with anyone?

8. Ah, poor poor Sir Pellinore.

9. Nice shot from one of Gaius’ books! I wonder how they made these! I’d love to be on the art team who does that.

10. This show is great when it does spooky stuff. I was drawn into it because it was a little bit spooky (Mary Collins was a freak). Also I love the Black Knight, can’t ever forget the scene from Monty Python’s Holy Grail! If you haven’t seen it, check it out! :’’’D

11. Merlin uses Edwin Muirden’s spell, this is as ominous as when Luke Skywalker used force choke in Star Wars 6. (dark side power).

12. Arthur you done fucked up. Merlin looks so hurt in this moment. I mean, he runs away, like, poor child. And the worst part is is that Arthur doesn’t even apologize. It’s times like these where I think Merlin’s right about keeping his secret.

13. Poor Nimueh, I really feel for her in this episode. Interestingly, Nimueh specifically says that her and Uther were friends. It’s astounding how they could have plausibly cared for each other at one point. On the other hand, I haven’t ever seen Uther just talk with another magical user without being fully enraged. It appears to be some kind of respect or fear he has of her. He even goes to ask her why she continues with her revenge (dumb question), but it’s as if he isn’t pursuing her specifically.

14. The friendship I didn’t know I needed. :’(

15. The pure pride Merlin shows when he looks at Excalibur is beautiful. Like, holy shit, he looks like he’s bonding with the sword. If it was human, there would be ships for sure.

16. Uther remember Merlin’s name, acknowledged Merlin’s astounding loyalty to Arthur, and even asked Merlin to look after Arthur when he was gone.

17. I don’t know why I took these, but I love em.

18. I think this is just my perception, but Nimueh looks somehow older in this shot, right when the Wraith is destroyed.

19. Merlin in some different clothing. I can’t put into words how much I hate his regular attire. :’D


	10. The Moment of Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit late with this one, my apologies! There was some good stuff here but I had quite a lot of difficulty putting it in writing and I didn’t really know what to focus on for a while. All I know is Will, Prince of Ealdor, deserves a lot more appreciation! Also Joe Dempsie is fiiiine in Game of Thrones. Respect.

The Coming of Truth was a wonderful episode, gave a lot of new information about the world in which Merlin lives in, shed some light on Merlin’s past, and, I think, finally brought the relationship between Merlin and Arthur that we see in the seasons that come after. No doubt, both Arthur and Merlin are still trying to figure each other out. There’s a sort of awkwardness in their interactions and Merlin specifically seems to be so baffled that these people (Arthur, Gwen, Morgana) are all willing to help him out. Which is both incredibly sad and adorable (when you see all his body gestures).

There was a lot more Merlin and Arthur interactions if we compared this episode to the first nine and I think the next episode is the one with the unicorn so we’re on a steady road to the series standard. After all, we basically get Merlin and Arthur on a trip together, Arthur trying to fix the current problem while losing his confidence, Merlin encouraging Arthur and making Arthur believe in himself again, just to have Merlin defeat the foe with magic (quite blatantly in this episode, I may add). Though, Arthur’s victory shouldn’t be downplayed here, he defeated Kanen all on his own. This should remind us that even though Merlin does defeat most of the magical creatures with his magic, it’s usually a combined effort between Merlin’s magical power and Arthur’s skill as a fighter and a strategist.  

However, one of the things I least liked about the episode was Ealdor’s villagers. All of them were just so blank, except for the few that had their loved ones killed. Even Hunith didn’t look like she particularly cared for the people who died, like really?? From how Merlin talks about Ealdor we could gather that he wasn’t particularly loved. In the beginning of the series, Hunith writes to Gaius stating Merlin is at odds with everyone there, Merlin himself says that he didn’t feel like he belonged in Ealdor, and he also seems to be friends with the town’s delinquent. Which is a fact that is a bit hard to notice cause of how blank everyone is, but Merlin tells Arthur that Will has “always been a troublemaker.” Will’s interactions with Hunith also seem to be rather cold, when Will speaks against Arthur she quickly reproaches him, when she finds out that Will knows Merlin’s secret she sends Merlin away and doesn’t tell Will what happened, and finally when everyone is attending Will’s funeral she doesn’t even shed a tear, far more interested with Merlin keeping his secret. On top of that, Will is always seen alone in this episode, and he clearly lives alone with only his father’s chain mail to keep him company. Though, apart from this, we can tell Will really cares about Ealdor and just wants everyone to live, opting to run away rather than fight and chastising Merlin when he’d rather save himself rather than the village (by not using magic).

To be honest, both Arthur and Will had good reasons for their respective ideas. If Merlin wasn’t there to save Ealdor, everyone would have died, but similarly if the villagers had ran, Will’s idea, the bandits would have likely found them and killed them anyway. With Arthur’s idea (coming from a place of knighthood), the village gets to keep their dignity and honor, but with Will’s idea, at least someone, like the children, might get a chance to survive (coming from a place of poverty). Honestly I think the villagers accepted Arthur’s decision way too quickly, there should have been more of a divide. Will may have resented Arthur because of his father’s situation, but his reasoning was completely sound.  

Also, side note, Will really reminds be of Gwaine. He has no respect for royalty ie. Arthur, his father has the same tragic end that Gwaine’s did, they both keep memorabilia of their dead father, both like to cause trouble and have fun doing it, and both of them absolutely love and show respect to Merlin. I feel like one of the reasons Merlin clicked so well with Gwaine is because of how similar he was to Will.  

Without further ado, here is the rest of the episode!

* * *

 

1. The opening shot! Still wish this show displayed more village’s with money, this place dead broke.

2. That lady is all types of dumb. She takes her child and runs right across the road she knows the bandits are riding through. Like I get she was trying to get to her home, but she would have had better luck running towards the woods or something.

3. Some more of Ealdor’s residents. It always astounds me how colorful Merlin is in comparison. I know the show probably did that because it made him stand out more, but his night clothes are similarly colored to the ones we see here. Maybe as an in world reason, Hunith was trying to make Merlin fit in Camelot more and so bought or dyed him clothes that might look more expensive.

4. How can anyone forget Dr. Bashir. He’s come a long way. Gotta love him.

5. And oh boy, Anderson, never had a chance in Sherlock or Merlin. Poor guy.

6. The moment Hunith tried to take back the village’s rations always struck me as both dumb and brave. Much like her son at this point, so you can kinda see where he gets it from. You can really see the resolution in her eyes.

7. Love her in this shot, she belongs in a renaissance painting or something!’

8. Scumbag sitting in a chair, not wanting to do anything useful as usual. Uther does have a point, I believe, he can’t just be sending his troops over enemy lines. From his point of view one dead village is worth it, if many more of his own village’s don’t share the same faith. Tho whether he really cares about his own villages is debatable.

9. And we all know Hunith is straight up lying when she tells Uther he’s a good King. Like legit she was just saying that to get help. I don’t care how kind hearted you are, her lover had to run away while she raised her child in a world that hated and feared him all because of Uther.

10. It’s nice to see everyone caring about Merlin.

11. I love the way she looks at him when he’s using his magic. This episode really brought out the child in Merlin. But like honestly, no sense of danger, Gwen and Morgana are like sleeping right there.

12. Okay, tho, Merlin, why would you take the sword when you have your magic? X’’’D

13. Look at Merlin fiddling with his hands, that’s the sort of thing you do when you’re embarrassed or insecure. Poor little guy.

14. Alexander Siddig reminds me of a young Hugh Laurie in this shot.

15. Cute little puppy.

16. Look at them! Meeting for the first time in months. Merlin’s smile is wonderful.

17. Hunith wants to smack a bitch.

18. I believe this would be Will’s coat of arms? I wonder what the true relationship was between Will and his father. Like how early did he die in Will’s life, was his mother a noble woman who couldn’t keep her station after her husbands death, or did she die or was dead already by the time Will’s father died? Maybe like Balinor, Will’s father married a peasant woman? So many unanswered questions.

19. These two are so cute. I love how Arthur begins to understand what Merlin’s life is and was like. I don’t think Arthur ever fully understood how good he had it. And that’s shown well in this episode.

20. Gwen being an Angel.

21. Morgana and Gwen being tired of Arthur’s shit. I can’t say Im surprised at Arthur, for sure, if we compare him to the other men of the show, he has a lot of sexist traits. When we look at men like Lancelot and Gwaine, I don’t think I have to mention Merlin (you already know), they display a lot of masculine tendencies and Im sure they’d be the first two protecting all the damsels in distress, but they’ve never really talked in a sexist manner. Arthur, in particular, likely acts the way he does because his mother died before he could meet her. And all he had as a role model was Uther, who we already know is an awful human being. Coupled with the fact that Uther probably emphasized the need to protect Morgana over the years and here we have a man who thinks women cant do shit. Like did Arthur expect them to just stand and watch? He didn’t even tell them to run.

22. Oops, bye bye Anderson.

23. Look at them. Those villagers couldn’t care less.

24. I love that we finally get to see Arthur and Gwen interact with each other. You can tell the show is deciding that they’ll be end game, haha. Though I’d like to say, at this point, there’s like no chemistry between them. Gwen just thinks he’s an ass. :’D Compared to Gwen, Merlin like instantly fell in love with him, and this is coming from someone who loves Arwen.

25. I. LOVE. WHEN. MERLIN. WEARS. DIFFERENT. ATTIRE.

26. I hate how Merlin’s bravery is never acknowledged. He dodges two arrows and nothing. He risks his life just so they’re plan wouldn’t fail.

27. Gwen fighting shots! You go gurl!

28. This is very reminiscent of Merlin getting hit in a Servant of Two Masters. Except Will wasn’t there to help him that time.  

29. I love this shot of Merlin’s hand. It’s somehow so powerful.

30. Boop. Merlin defeats the bandits. Boop. Arthur defeats Kanen. Dream team.

31. The first moment Merlin begins to die inside. :/

32. Hunith and Merlin because every shot with them is a treat.

33. Lastly, they’re off back home. Though, I wonder if Uther is raging yet that both Morgana and Arthur have seemingly left. And it’s obvious that they would go to help the village, right? I mean Uther’s not that dense. I wonder if they were punished.

 


	11. The Labyrinth of Gedref

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Imma keep my rant a bit short for this episode cause I don’t have that many strong opinions this time around. Though, I was reminded of how much a prat Arthur could be because, ooh boy, he makes some pretty poor decisions. Though, that’s obviously the point of this episode. What’s interesting about Arthur’s character after these events is that, he only really learns some small lessons out of the whole ordeal. Which is, probably, to mind his actions (killing that man after being only insulted is just unreasonable) and to be more respectful of magical creatures (he buries the unicorns horn at the end). And even with all that, I can recall some future episodes where he disregards these lessons. The outcome of the ending was just Arthur being Arthur. Of course he would sacrifice his life so Merlin could live and of course he would do the same for Camelot. Hasn’t he, like, done this already?
> 
> I took this episode as, Anhora just trying to figure out the future king of Camelot and why Emrys is following him (because you know Anhora knew what was up). Also, Merlin learns that Arthur is pure of heart… just like the unicorn, so that’s gotta be like extra bonus points for Arthur as future King. What’s striking about this is that Arthur really is pure of heart. He never really changes throughout the seasons and always keeps his honour, ideals, and good nature, while people like Merlin, Morgana, and Gwen steadily became other people by Series 5, all of which looked mostly depressed tbh. That’s not to say Arthur was perfect, as this episode shows us, but he clearly had a stronger grasp on his ideals and by the time his father is gone, he’s able to implement many of them.

1. This is probably one of the few times Merlin and Arthur aren’t standing right next to each other when they go out. :”D

2. Okay, tho, this horse just looks dumb. There, I said it. It looks like some kind of rebellious teenager. Go get a haircut, unicorn, you’ll get hair in your eyes!

3. Merlin is so sweet, he literally sniffs when the unicorn dies. He’s over here crying while Arthur is gloating in triumph. Merlin’s connection to all things magical is actually quite heartbreaking in many ways. So many events impact him so greatly and the fact that he’s in Camelot away from all these magical environments is probably damaging, tbh.

4. Merlin is sad, Gaius is concerned, Uther’s an ass, but at least Arthur is so overjoyed that his father seems to be proud of him. Look at his cute little face, poor guy. Uther is the worst father ever.

5. Merlin is literally still sad about the unicorn. If that isn’t sweet, I don’t know what is. I think Merlin probably sees himself in the unicorn. I mean, that poor creature was just minding it’s own business when Arthur decided to kill it and keep it’s horn as a trophy. The idea that a magical creature doesn’t have to be dangerous to be worth killing must be a terrifying prospect for Merlin. After all, what’s the point in doing all this good with not even the promise of life to look forward too. And the fact that Arthur, someone he clearly looks up to, is doing all the hunting, probably doesn’t help either.

6. I love how all the knights who aren’t in Arthur’s Top Five + Mordred are all bland af. :’’’D Maybe this guy’s a guard, I don’t know.

7. What are these scientific equipment’s even doing here?? This is not the time period for this. :’D Though, my head-cannon is that Camelot itself is surrounded by so much magic, shit like beer cans and other future items just pop up in Camelot. That place is just wild.

8. This guy looks genuinely handsome but his beautiful face is diminished by those jarring clothes. They just don’t fit him well, at all.

9. I love how these two are just drinking the water together. Merlin obviously had to bring in the water to Arthur first, but Arthur didn’t make him wait, he just let Merlin pour a cup for himself too.

10. Morgana stands out so much, she would have made a wonderful Queen. Not only is she fair and considerate but she’s imposing and strikingly beautiful. She’s the type of person who just demands loyalty just by her presence. Though I think all the Pendragons have that.

11. There is so much scary shit on this castle. It definitely looks like it was made by magic. Also magic looks like it trapped a whole buncha people’s souls.

12. Gaius’ face when he eats a beetle. :’D So cute. Even Merlin didn’t look so disgusted.

13. I don’t really understand why this show made Uther look so much more Celtic than everybody else. Though I use the term loosely cause honestly there isn’t anything Celtic about the show. But Uther’s over there with his cloak pinned by what looks like a ancient Celtic brooch (which no one ever really wears in the show), he also sports a necklace with Celtic symbols (its hard to see in this image but it’s there). Like if anything, Uther should probably be Roman or something? Im pretty sure that’s how the later legends have it and that’s what this show is taking most of it’s material from.

14. Look at Anhora when he ask Merlin if he has faith in Arthur. Anhora obviously knew about Emrys, he was a magical creature himself after all, it’s funny how tight lipped they all are.

15. Okay, this is a funny screenshot, he kinda looks like an angry troll in this shot. (Which makes me laugh cause of all those trollhunter posts Ive been seeing) But also, Merlin’s reaction is notable, I think. Merlin is shocked that Anhora has seemingly betrayed him and Anhora kinda just rolls with it (idiot much?). In basically every episode Merlin is acting with little knowledge of his magical brethren. Until mid season, Merlin didn’t even know about the Druids, his whole life he hadn’t hear a single thing about them. Merlin deserved a teacher who actually taught him about magic and how it worked and all that. Not Gaius, who basically through the magical book at Merlin and told him to fend for himself or Kilgharrah, who berated Merlin and sent him mixed messages letting him flounder for no other reason than his own amusement. Merlin could have prospered if he had led a life with the Druids.

16. Like the one time we see a beach? I think it took Arthur less than a day to get there? So I’m going to assume Arthur is near by one of the edges of Britain.

17. Just a little shot of these nice cups. I love item close up shots.


	12. Chapter 12

Boy oh boy, I don’t even know where to begin with this episode. As we all know, love and hate come hand in hand with BBC’s Merlin, for when we have wonderfully cute scenes between Arthur and Merlin or Morgana and Gwen, we also have the forever damning prophecy and Uther’s constant presence. The problems with this episode reign supreme unfortunately, and all of those petty little things the writers try to tell, instead of show, us persist to destroy all our favorite characters. The two most damned people in this episode? Morgana and Gwen.

Gwen is probably the most obvious one. Her father is basically murdered by Uther and left in tears watching his dead body being carted off. She’s an absolute angel all through out and even puts Morgana’s feelings in the forefront when she sees her injured. She still keeps her ideals despite Uther, which is commendable as well. And finally, she doesn’t hold anything against Arthur, even tho he was the one to arrest Tom and accepts his apology. Keep in mind, she didn’t have to do any of these things and in an especially emotional state, anyone else would have lashed out. Truly the Queen Camelot needs.

However, I feel like this episode just kicks her while she’s down, mainly from the way the episode is framed. It’s like in every episode that Gwen is largely featured, they have to go and ruin her life. Mainly looking at The Mark of Nimueh, where she almost watched her father die and then got arrested. And besides that, it’s like this episode completely brushes off Gwen’s feelings to make some stupid point about Uther and Morgana. After Tom dies, the episode is almost all focused on Morgana’s fight with Uther when it should probably be Gwen trying to come to terms with what happened instead, no? Then when Gwen is brought up again, it’s only to point out that for some reason, murdering Uther is such a terrible idea. Like give me a break. And another thing, are you really gonna make me believe, that no one could have gotten Tom out? They got Mordred out safely, but oops, Tom?? What? Who cares, I suppose?

Morgana that sweet child was the only one that was trying to help Tom, because she knew what Uther’s trial would give Tom, a swift execution. Yet, again, the show runners had instead tried to frame her poorly. By what we see in this episode, Morgana’s actions are supposedly the only reason Tom dies. Morgana who gave Tom a means of escape and as a result led him to his guilty looking escape. Even though, we all know that Tom would have just been killed in the trial. And to top it off, Morgana then plans to kill Uther off herself, which to be honest, seems like a rash decision on her part. Not because Uther makes a great King or anything, but because she changed her mind sooooo quickly. Literally the moment he says that he was wrong about killing Gwen’s father, which I’d like to add, he doesn’t even look sincere about. X’’’’D It’s completely mind boggling. Much like The Beginning of the End, Morgana exhibits behavior that is just unreasonable and is actually quite telling of her future self.

Some final notes on Uther, the show never actually shows us what makes Uther a great king. This episode, being a prime example, shows us Merlin questioning whether it is right to let Uther die and in his quest for answers, he asks Gaius whether Uther is a good king or not. Gaius being Gaius says that he is. Meanwhile, we have Uther rounding up people for just talking to a sorcerer. Not because they were plotting against the king, but only because they didn’t even know that Tauren was a sorcerer. We never even see the outcome of the trials because once Tom is killed it’s all about the fight between Uther and Morgana. There is no scene where Uther apologizes to Gwen or anything. Why are we supposed to think of Uther differently all because he tells Morgana that he was wrong with the most insincere face. Ooo that’s great Morgana is happy now but Gwen still doesn’t have a father and Uther still destroyed those other families too.

Alright, here’s some screenshots! I’ve found some funny bits for sure and the notes are far less bitter, I swear!  

* * *

 

1. A button to go with Gwen’s new dress.

2. And part of the dress! I wish they’d shown the whole thing! Or it would have been nice to see her wear it once in a while. But I don’t think she does. The show should have had a scene with her wearing it at the end. Maybe Merlin’s in the courtyard when Gwen comes and talks with him. Since Morgana went out on a ride with Uther, it’s not conceivable that she would have a day off. And it would have been a nice way to honor her father, who like literally made Excalibur. (Sorry for the bitterness)

3. I really love the fact that Merlin can just sense strong magic. Like he really is magic itself.

4. That part when Arthur just comes out of the door is so funny. :’D The sorcerer just skips out. Like Arthur didn’t even barge in, or surround the place?? It looks like he’s coming in for a chat.

5. Cute bed head Merlin is cute.

6. I love how Gwen always runs to Merlin when she has a problem. She just knows that he gets shit done.

7. Morgana is so pretty. Especially with her furry little cloak. It always makes her look far more eloquent than everyone else. Can you imagine Arthur wearing that??

8. Gwen is adorbs too. Everyone is lovely in this episode.

9. Look! The furry cloak! I love her outfit this episode. And that little hand!! I love those sleeves.

10. Okay, tho, big oopsie over here. Heels? Really? They’re not even trying for some accuracy. :’D But beautiful all the same.

11. This looks like a dragon stone!! Look at those claws.

12. Merlin always knows.

13. Arthur is such an ass every time he chooses to blindly listen to his father.

14. Okay, Tom, you’re a little bit too dumb. I mean, they would have noticed him gone soon after that. But leaving the key in the door? Jeez

15. This is beyond brutal. They treated Tom like an animal and gave him no mercy. Uther’s not the only monster in Camelot.

16. Poor Gwen deserved better than seeing her father like that.

17. This is quite a wonderful shot. I love when they do light like this!

18. Probs the moment Gwen starts falling for Arthur.

19. Tauren is a shady ass bitch and deserved to die.

20. Shot of the whole spread. It’s always lovely to see the medieval texts they made! They look so fun.

21. But also the Mage stone? That’s the lamest name ever. But also, this stone served not much purpose other than getting Tom caught, somehow ending up in Gwen’s house and as a result sending Morgana in to help Tauren kill Uther. Also to basically notify Merlin every time Morgana was doing something “bad” and to show up at the end to lamely deflect Merlin’s own staff. This stone which was lost for thousands of years and brought back finally has been reduced to such a boring prop. What shoddy writing. 

22. Interesting little scene here. Gwen tells Morgana about her troubles with Tauren but Morgana doesn’t say anything about having the stone. Instead she lies to Gwen and tells her that she’ll get the guards to go after him. What a Merlin thing to do.

23. Yay! Morgana learned her lesson and wore a green cape instead of her bright red one.

24. Another ridiculous malfunction in this episode. Look at his sword bend! Oof, what an awful mistake. It’s worse in the second shot. X’D

25. I know Morgana was a pretty great person when she was good, but I’ve got a special place in my heart for Evil!Morgana. If they’d made her more of an anti-hero, she would have been perfect.

26. “Pass the salt, Merlin”  _hands apple_

__

27. Aaaaaw, this is ridiculously cute. I swear, this show picks the best time for pure cuteness and comedy.

28. 

> **Merlin:**  The sorcerer Tauren is plotting to kill the King. He’s made an ally of Morgana. I don’t know what to do! 
> 
> **Kilgharrah:**  Do…nothing.

 I got chills when he said this. So good. I would have loved to watch Kilgharrah gobble Uther up.

29. 

> **Kilgharrah:**  Don’t you want Uther that persecutes you and your kind, Merlin. It is Uther that murders the innocent… 
> 
> **Merlin:**  But surely that doesn’t make it right to kill him.

Like what in literal hell is Merlin talking about? This is the most unrealistic dialogue ever. O.O That’s exactly what makes it right to kill him. How is that not enough of a reason???? He’s a literal monster.

30. 

> **Merlin:**  Wait! Where does it say my destiny includes murder? 

You murder people all the time! Like all the time. Holy shit. One of the writers was drunk, I just know it.

31. Ah, what a stuck up bitch. But I love Anthony Head so much. :’D

32. Gwen doesn’t need this shit right now, Merlin. :/ But I’d like to think that Merlin wasn’t thinking of himself at this moment and more of Morgana. Cause killing some random people is one thing (Morgana does it all the time), but killing her father figure? That might have messed her up forever. If he was thinking of himself tho, that’s just fucking dumb. Bitch kills everyone. x’D In reality, what he could have been worried about is killing in such a premeditated kind of matter. All the deaths he’s caused before were from people who were planning to kill him or Arthur, he didn’t really have time to think. But instead this episode made it seem like he was completely blind to his casualty list. Which is so obnoxious.

33. I can’t believe these two literally walked over the tiniest bridge ever.

34. Morgana and Uther are over there on horses while poor Merlin ran all the way to the grave site. Poor kid.

35. Zap!

36. Uther finally shows some respect and it’s to a dead man that honestly, he probably killed. Plus, taking a look at his legendary counterpart and his relationship with Gorlois? I can imagine Uther screwing him in this way. Morgana just looks like she wants him dead already, haha. And that sword is positioned so well. Perfect for a backstabbing.

37. I kinda like his aesthetic.

38. Zap! Okay, tho, this literally killed the other guy and Sophia and her dad. I think Merlin straight up died here. Or would have if he was normal.

39\. I like how Tauren isn’t doing the usual evil laughs. Those are annoying. Definitely makes him look more sympathetic. 

40. Little Merlin climbs

41. I literally just don’t care for this.

42. Look at this little animal. Aaaaw. He’s like a woodland creature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoopsie, missed this rewatch for a sec


	13. Le Morte d'Arthur Part A

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaah, there were so many good bits this episode. Merlin season finales don’t disappoint! Though, I’ll admit, most of it led to some rather new and extreme headcanons! And I mean extreme. You’ve been warned, haha!
> 
> Also, I’ll have another post with screencaps tomorrow! I just thought it was cruel to write so much! x’’P

Basically, this episode starts with Merlin, Arthur, and a handful of knights hunting a magical beast. We find out that they are hunting the Questing Beast, a creature of the old religion. A creature that has the power of life and death. They run away, Merlin trips, Arthur and Sir Bedivere save him, and Sir Bedivere unfortunately meets his demise as a consequence. They go back to Camelot, tell Uther, Uther talks to Gaius, yada yada yada.

A few interesting details come from these interactions.

Gaius tells Uther that the Questing Beast is an omen and appeared once before on the night Ygraine died. Gaius also tells Uther that the Beast is “supposed to foreshadow a time of great upheaval”

Upheaval which means “a violent or sudden change or disruption to something”

There are two ways this description can be taken. One, the Questing Beast is a symbol or foreshadowing of someone’s death to come, like Ygraine and almost Arthur. Or more realistically, Two, where the Questing Beast becomes an omen for all of the Magical community and Camelot’s quite violent change.

The Questing Beast is a creature of the old religion after all, it doesn’t care about some measly King and Queen. It doesn’t even care about Arthur, in reality.

But after Gaius sees it that night, Ygraine dies and the Great Purge begins setting the destructive future Merlin and Arthur live in.  

Now this is the fun bit. What if, just like that time with Ygraine, the Questing Beast came back to Camelot, again, as an omen to magic and the kingdom. Once more, the beast of the Old Religion has come back to judge all the inhabitants of Albion.

Soon after Merlin and Gaius’ exchange, where they talk about the Questing Beast and it’s power over life and death, Morgana is seen in her chambers. She’s terrified and has just woken up from a horrific nightmare or, rather, a premonition. Morgana is mortified and can barely speak as Gwen consoles her. The next time we see her is when she’s running towards Arthur in the court yard and is hysterically telling him to not go. She says things like:

> **MORGANA:**  You cannot face this!
> 
> **MORGANA:**  Please, Arthur. I have seen terrible things! You cannot go!
> 
> **MORGANA:** No! I will not let you go!

Morgana, knows Arthur will be mortally hurt, but consider this. When Morgana acts so frantically, maybe she isn’t referring to the events of this episode, per say. Perhaps she is really terrified of the consequences that happen afterward.

Next: Arthur, Merlin, and the knights finally leave to fight the beast. As we all know, it doesn’t end well. While Merlin successfully kills the beast, Arthur is bitten anyway. He is taken back to Camelot, where he is met with his distraught father. Uther, absolutely broken, personally carries his son through the court yard, so he can be lain down in his room. Uther doesn’t get far. He breaks down near the steps and then once again, we see Morgana.

Morgana, is no longer in her earlier hysterics, she stands by her window quiet and traumatized. A curious little detail, she doesn’t go to Arthur on his death bed. (Or, if she does, it is not shown) She knows there’s more disaster to come, yet she doesn’t speak to Merlin yet.

Merlin, distraught himself, goes to Kilgharrah when he finds no other magical cure. Kilgharrah gives Merlin the answer he is looking for and tells Merlin to go to the Isle of the Blessed. Merlin tells Gaius of his plan and despite his warnings travels there to save Arthur’s life. Meanwhile, Gaius and Gwen take care of Arthur. When Merlin finally arrives to the Isle of the Blessed, he meets Nimueh and she has this to say.

> **MERLIN:**  You tried to kill me.
> 
> **NIMEUH:** Before I understood your importance.
> 
> **MERLIN:**  And Arthur.
> 
> **NIMUEH:** Arthur was never destined to die at my hand, and now it seems I will be his salvation.

Nimueh, displays an interest in Merlin and Arthur that is never seen again after she dies. In the future, both Morgana and Morgause have no interest in cooperating with Arthur. They see him as an enemy just like his father. Nimueh, as she reveals later on in the episode, has her own powers of premonition. Powers that we never see during the show, but clearly exist and are apparently strong because she knows exactly who Merlin and Arthur are. She no longer has an interest in killing either of them because she knows their significance.

Back in the episode, Merlin returns to Camelot and gives Arthur the antidote. Which is water from the Cup of Life. And the moment Merlin and Gaius leave, Morgana pulls Merlin into an alcove.

> **MORGANA:** Please, Merlin, you must beware. This is only the beginning.

Now, we must consider this. We must consider how strong Morgana’s vision was. She seemed like she knew almost everything that was going to happen. And she was terrified. Morgana tells Merlin this, but she doesn’t explain what this is a beginning of. Maybe, we are to believe that Morgana is speaking of Hunith’s almost death? But Morgana doesn’t come to visit Hunith either. Maybe Morgana is talking about what Gaius is planning to do? But Morgana doesn’t come to Gaius either. She just stays in her room. Watching everyone.

Arthur wakes up, Merlin waits to die, etc. etc. The next morning, we see Merlin’s mother riddled with some kind of disease and Merlin learns that she has payed the price for Arthur’s life. Merlin, furious, goes to Kilgharrah. Merlin blames Kilgharrah for what has happened. But the Great Dragon has this to say:

> **KILGHARRAH:**  Your destiny is to protect the young Pendragon until he claims his crown, and when he does, magic can be returned to the realm. Only then will I be free.
> 
> **MERLIN:** Oh. So that’s all you cared about? I thought you were my friend.
> 
> **KILGHARRAH:** I am more than that, Merlin. I am your kin.
> 
> **MERLIN:**  No. The only family I have is my mother, and you had me murder her.
> 
> **KILGHARRAH:**  Her life has not been taken in vain. We will achieve great things together, you and I.
> 
> **MERLIN:**  You will never be released, for what you’ve done! I’ll make sure you never see the light.
> 
> **KILGHARRAH** : Merlin!

This is an intriguing line because, hello, Kilgharrah just told Merlin that it was his job to protect Arthur until the Pendragon became King! Now this may have been a slip of the tongue or (the writers didn’t really think about it), but maybe Merlin wasn’t supposed to protect Arthur after he became King. At this point in the story, Merlin’s destiny was only to ensure that Arthur survive until he was crowned. That’s significant because Merlin never stops protecting Arthur and in Season 5, we see that often times, his willingness to put Arthur first becomes disastrous to both Arthur and magic.

Another thing to consider is Merlin’s reaction to what he perceives Kilgharrah did. Merlin retaliates the same way Uther retaliated to Nimueh. Uther and Nimueh were friends once. In Excalibur, they actually mirror this kind of conversation, not word for word but all the same feelings are right there. Merlin, in fact, threatens to do the same thing Uther did twenty years prior. Plus, Merlin doesn’t even take responsibility for his actions in this episode. He chooses to blame Kilgharrah and accuse him of Merlin’s own mistake. Merlin knew the repercussions of such a deal and Nimueh never stated that Merlin would be the one to pay it. Honestly, it’s kind of spooky how alike Merlin and Uther are in this episode.  

Now Merlin plans to sacrifice himself again and even tells goodbye to all of his loved ones, but Gaius beats him to it. Merlin rides off to save Gaius, but meanwhile Gaius and Nimueh speak to each other.

> **GAIUS:** Merlin is the one man who can bring magic back to this land. At Arthur’s side, he can help forge a new kingdom. A world of peace and beauty that we can only dream of.
> 
> **NIMUEH:**  And you’re willing to give your life, Gaius, for the future they will bring? I’m waiting. Are you ready to die, Gaius? Gaius?
> 
> **GAIUS:**  For Merlin I will give my life.
> 
>  

Gaius, quite honestly, acts fairly heroic in this episode. In a way, maybe Gaius was meant to die in actuality. I think if he had died in this episode, it would have been a good death. He would have saved Merlin and as a result Camelot as well. I think he may have saved their future.

When Merlin finally arrives, he is outraged that Nimueh has killed Gaius.

> **MERLIN:** What have you done?
> 
> **NIMUEH:** Your mother is safe. Isn’t that what you wanted?
> 
> **MERLIN:** Have you killed him?
> 
> **NIMUEH:** It was his wish.
> 
> **MERLIN:**  I bid my life for Arthur’s, not my mother’s, not Gaius’s!
> 
> **NIMUEH:** The Old Religion does not care who lives and who dies! Only that the balance of the world is restored. To save a life, a life must be taken. Gaius knew this.
> 
> **MERLIN:** It is not the Old Religion that has done this. It is you.
> 
> **NIMUEH:** Come now. We are too valuable to each other to be enemies.
> 
> **MERLIN:**  No! I share nothing with you!
> 
> **NIMUEH:**  With my help, Arthur will become King.
> 
> **MERLIN:**  I will make Arthur King. But you will never see that day. Ástríce!

Can you hear him? He practically channels Uther. Though I would like to say that Merlin didn’t blame magic, but of course he didn’t. He loves magic, he has magic, and he is magic. And I will also admit Nimueh is a shady as bitch but realistically, who was Nimueh going to sacrifice to the gods if not someone close to Merlin? She had to give a life for a life and when Merlin kills her and gets back Gaius it’s obvious that that is the truth. Would Merlin have been happy if Nimueh chose a stranger? Surely that isn’t fair. At this moment Merlin wasn’t prepared to do the right thing. Instead he was focused on how all these magical creatures were trying to destroy his life.

And Nimueh? While she was a bit of a lunatic, I believe she expressed genuine interesting in helping Camelot in order to help the magical community. Some of her words are a bit fanatic. She mentions ruling the world with Merlin? Like okay, gurl, calm down. But can you imagine if Gaius stayed dead? Nimueh could have had the opportunity to act as a benevolent force. More of a anti hero kinda gal. I think she would have still gone for some extremes. Uther was still alive after all. Perhaps Nimueh would have admired Merlin’s capability to change people? She constantly chastises Gaius for his role in Uther’s reign, but seeing Gaius in the Isle of the Blessed, ready to sacrifice his life (Something he wouldn’t have done before)? All for Merlin’s destiny as magic’s savior?

But instead Merlin came in with accusations and words that would make Uther proud if he were his son.

And then the show ends with these last exchanges:

> **MERLIN:**  Gaius. Gaius. Gaius, you’re alive!
> 
> **GAIUS:**  What did you do?
> 
> **MERLIN:**  Nimueh’s dead. The balance of the world has been restored.
> 
> **GAIUS:**  You amaze me. You’ve mastered the power of life and death itself. We’ll make a great warlock of you yet.
> 
> **MERLIN:** So you believe in me now?
> 
> **GAIUS:** Well, I would do if…if you could stop this blasted rain.
> 
> [They laugh]
> 
> **KILGHARRAH** : Merlin! No! [roar]
> 
> **[Morgana wakes from a nightmare]** ****

In these final moments, it appears as if the heroes have one, but in reality, they may have changed destiny forever. Because with the loss of Nimueh, Morgause’s appearance was only natural. Her teacher was dead and now she was high priestess. Morgause unlike Nimueh, did not know of Merlin and Arthur’s destiny. She saw them as enemies, tho more so, after Merlin poisoned Morgana. Morgause seeked the only ally she wanted, her sister, and then after that it was all down hill.

We see Morgana having nightmares even after Merlin wins. Which leaves me to believe that she was not dreaming of the events of this episode. She was dreaming of the future that now awaits her. The person that she was in Season 1 and 2 was pleading for Arthur not to go fight the Questing Beast and she was warning Merlin that whatever this was, it was only the beginning to years of suffering, but Merlin had not heeded her words.

And Kilgharrah? He screams in defiance at the most fitting time. Only a few moments after Merlin kills a person that may have been his greatest ally.

The Questing Beast was not only a foreshadowing of great upheaval, but also a symbol of repeating history.


	14. Le Morte d'Arthur Part B

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, It’s about time I got to these screencaps. Sorry for the delay, but I’ve basically been so drained this past week! I’ve spent like 90% of my time thinking of this episode, haha. For the next one I think I’ll try to get it all done on Sundays. :’D Also, I think Imma change my format for showing off these pics! Like imma do it: Picture then Notes. When I was rereading them, it just made more sense this way. :O
> 
> Okay, Lets begin!

1. You know, its such a shame that many of Arthur’s original knights weren’t recurring characters. It’s sad that the only ones we know either died or came to Arthur from a far. Except with Sir Leon. That’s one of the things that make their relationship so great. Sir Leon’s love for Arthur was completely because of Arthur, he didn’t need any convincing. And I feel like it’s the same with the rest of Arthur’s knights. They all just love him.

2. I never noticed how conveniently foggy Camelot was before! Haha, it’s always so foggy. Omg.

 

3. This is the cutest creature ever!!! Aaw I love snakes. It also reminds me of Stargate.

4. Arthur’s face is priceless. He has the best expressions. And I love seeing Merlin is shocked and still. Season 5 Merlin would been prepared for this fucked up snake. :’D

5. Okay, thooooo! I. LOVE. THIS. I’ve always loved this. Poor Merlin trips and Arthur doesn’t even think about leaving him. And the way he holds him even after they get up is cute! Aaaaw, im willing to bet that after Anhora left them, they became closer friends.

6. And when I say close, I mean, like they fucking left Sir Bedivere to fucking die. X’’’’’’’D That’s so messed up, but I find it hilarious because when they stopped running. It was all “hmmmm, where Sir Bedivere be at???” Like that bitch got fucked up right after you left. Literally a second after.

7. Close up of Uther’s crown! And his angry little face, aw. I just cant be angry at Anthony Head. Love him.

8. Cute Little Merlin. He looks so smug, haha. I loved seeing him hold a sword tho. Super cool. I get why the show didn’t want him to learn how to fight. I mean all magical and a capable swordsman? That’s kinda Arthur’s shtick! But on that note, if they bumped up just how amazing Arthur was because of his natural skills and obviously years of practice and trying to impress his father, they could have done it. Merlin wouldn’t ever be as good as Arthur because: a. He hasn’t spend the time for it. B. I don’t think Merlin is very interested in sword fighting. C. he doesn’t think he needs to. but he would have been able to protect himself a bit better. On top of that, Im not sure why Morgana was so good at sword fighting?? Like, Uther doesn’t look particularly supportive, actually he doesn’t even acknowledge it, so the fact that Morgana could have bested Arthur at any moment also diminishes Arthur’s skills. :/ (No offense to Morgana, I like that she’s a fighting lady, but it makes Arthur look like a regular old joe)

9. Cute face!!!!

10. Questing Beast as seen in one of Gaius’ books!

11. About as close to Mergana as we’ll ever get, huh?

12. Good shot!

13. This snakey bitch didn’t even bite Arthur. What games is this show playing??

14. Merlin don’t need to sword fight when he can make the swords fight for him. :P

15. A few shots of Merlin’s magical book!

16. I hate Uther, but I love those moments when he actually cares for his children. :/ So sad. If you think about it, this is probably how he reacted to Ygraine’s death. But no lie, I thought the scene itself was a bit dramatic. Like how the king just gonna parade thought the courtyard with his dying son.

17. Morgana looks delightfully ominous this episode.

18. And the way people getting carried in this show is as ridiculous as usual. Like, guysss, wasn’t he on a stretcher earlier??

19. Aw, Merlin with a horse. Love me some Merlin with animals.

20. And a rabbits foot. Im continuously baffled by which scenarios these people think are superstitious. If I were to choose anything to remove from this show, it would be everyone’s thoughts on superstition. In a world of dragons, goblins, ghosts, what the hell is wrong with this people? It makes no sense for any of them to be all oooo science this science that. Especially since Science doesn’t do shit in this show. :’’’D

21. This scene was so tender. I love the idea that Uther can soothe Arthur’s stress. Arthur’s such a sweet young person. All he wants is love. O.O

22. I thought this was pretty!

23. Guinevere is a sweet heart! Her interactions with Arthur are definitely interesting. I see why people may take some issue with it and I hear a lot of people spouting things like they aint got chemistry and blablabla. Personally I don’t care for all that noise, but I don’t know how to describe what I see in Season 1’s Arwen. I’ve seen Gwen with Merlin and Lancelot and quite honestly I always thought she had more of a crush on Merlin. :’D I think her crush on Merlin was more obvious, at least, but it also seemed a bit sillier? Gwen and Lancelot looked like they could have had a deep love too. And with Arthur, she seems to have the deepest respect and admiration for him at this point. Also, consider that she would have never done this a year ago. Gwen definitely has a thing for him.

24. Some Camelotians saying goodbye to Arthur.

25. Uther is so done with their shit.

26. This was so funny for me. Like you don’t know, hahaha. Merlin has like no patience to even row his own fucking boat. :’’’D I know it doesn’t look like there are any paddles but if there’s a boat there have to be some paddles. Can you imagine if Merlin was royalty?? He would do nothing for himself!

27. I gotta say, I would have loved if Merlin and Nimueh had a romance in the show. Not in any cute sense, mind you. Nimueh has always been kind of a creep. In legend, she was Merlin’s apprentice and then I think she tricked him into love just to kill him in either the crystal cave or by making him a tree?? (Though the legend differs depending on where you read it.) Also, she would have at least respected his power, even if she was conniving.

28. Close up of the Cup of Life… though quite honestly The Holy Grail has such a better ring to it.

29. And close up of some water container.

30. Look at how they stare at each other! So much disdain, I love it.

31. I sense… magic?

32. Okay, Im not gonna lie, I just thought Arthur looked sexy in this one. Sue me.

33. Here’s a thought, we know Arthur has this super magical charisma (basically) and everyone either falls in love with him or is loyal to him till the end of time. I don’t think Uther is exception to that rule, but maybe because whenever Uther and Arthur are together, Arthur is never at his best. Arthur is always in doubt with his father even at the best of times. So all that super amazing loyal creating charisma just gets wiped out.

34. Morgana looks wonderful as a completely mad woman. Another interesting little story, The Life of Merlin presents a time in Merlin’s life where he has gone mad because of his visions of the future. He opts out of society and instead chooses to live with the animals of the forest. Because of Merlin’s madness he becomes more animalistic and when he is confronted with the world, he comes of as cruel. He even laughed at one man because he saw the irony in which this man would die. So basically, Im pretty sure Morgana was driven mad by her own visions.

35. I don’t really understand Merlin’s expression tho. He should have reassured her or something. X’D

36. And Morgana looks like a lost puppy.

37. This is just a really cool shot of Gaius.

38. Yes, Arthur, I too would be confused if I saw Uther upon awakening. Honestly tho, xP the surprise on Arthur’s face is just depressing.

39. It super creeps me out when Uther and Arthur are talking about Merlin. (They’re really talking about Arthur’s guardian angel but still) It feels like Merlin’s in danger. :’D

40. Aaw, sweet angels.

41. Both Arthur and Gwen are kinda cute here. Arthur’s trying to get Gwen to admit what she told Arthur while he was asleep and Gwen is like “bitch you cray” haha. This moment is quite important in Gwen and Arthur’s relationship. Gwen basically confessed to him and Arthur was unbelievably charmed.

42. Look at his cute puffy little face when Gwen leaves.

43. Spooky castle is spooks.

44. Umm, why didn’t Gaius spend the night with Merlin tho? At this point they still thought Merlin was going to die.

45. I don’t think Hunith’s appearance makes quite that much sense. It takes 2-3 nights to get to Camelot from Ealdor.

46. Close up of Merlin’s lucky rabbit’s foot.

47. This is like the realist thing in Merlin. Looks like a regular old Medieval disease that’s for sure.

48. That’s a pretty harsh Kilgharrah. But he probably knew that Merlin could deflect that.

49. THIS, Arthur. This is why you get fat. Poor Arthur learned his eating habits from Uther.

50. Arthur does not know whats up. Imagine if Merlin died, he’d be so shocked. I think he would remember Merlin forever. Though I don’t think he’d be broken like season 5 Arthur would.

51. Merlin and Hunith have a whole conversation on saying goodbye and Merlin tells her that he’ll be alright and that she doesn’t have to worry because the Gods will look after him. It’s really messed up when you know Hunith isn’t aware of Merlin’s decision to sacrifice himself. Merlin straight up made that speech so it could be taken either way. This is some sly shit.

52. Gaius’ letter to Merlin.

53. Merlin environments.

54. Morgana is just with the audience in this ep.

55. Nimueh like just walks over Gaius’ dead body. X’D No respect.

56. Merlin magical fights!

57. Looking at Nimueh in this last part, I wonder if she knew she was going to die. She didn’t seem fazed when Merlin got up after he was hit. And she was similarly unfazed when he started playing with the lightning.

58. Poof.


End file.
